In the early fourteenth century, Dante Alighieri wrote his masterpiece. “The poem is a narrative of a journey down through Hell, up the mountain of Purgatory, and through the revolving heavens into the presence of God (Cary, 4)”. The Divine Comedy is viewed as a poem of grandeur that defies any classification (Critical Survey, 1230). The poem was so named because Dante wrote it in Italian, the “vulgar” language. Also because the poem begins in despair and ends in pure bliss (Witt 325). The Divine Comedy was written to express Dante’s interest in human nature and individual dilemmas. On the whole it is a Christian poem that builds on all aspects of life and points toward the wonder and awe of God. To further express his views, Dante relied heavily on numbers that become apparent symbols throughout the poem. The poem summarizes his theology, philosophy, and life (Kuiper). Throughout the Divine Comedy, Dante uses number symbolism and vivid imagery to illustrate his views of Hell, Purgatory, and Heaven.
The Divine Comedy is thoroughly based on the use of number symbolism. Dante’s own rhyme scheme, terze rima, makes use of the number three and goes as follows: aba, bcb, cdc, etc. The use of numbers illustrates Dante�

ante’s deep Christian faith. Each number represents some form of Christian symbol. Two symbolizes the duality of nature, the difference between Church and State, the Old and New Testament, corporal and spritual. The number three plays an especially important role throughout the poem. One poem divided into three canticles represents three persons in one God (1300 Evaluations, 549). There are nine circles or terraces in each world, which is a multiple of three. The number four represents the seasons, elements, directions, and cardinal virtues. Four combines with ever-important three to make seven, which represents the days of creation, days of the week, virtues, and vices. By using this type of symbolism Dante illustrates his Christian beliefs.

Next, Dante and Virgil journey down to the third circle. The third circle is overseen and ruled by the three-headed Cerberus, a disgusting, drooling beast. Cerberus barks as a dog at the mass of sinners. “His eyes crimson, black his unctuous beard, his belly large, and claw’d the hands, with which he tears the spirits, flays them, and their limbs piecemeal disparts (Dante Canto VI).” Cerberus oversees the gluttonous whose punishment is to be trapped under continuous storms of rain, sleet, and snow. Continuing down to the fourth circle Dante encounters the prodigious and avaricious. For their punishment each are condemned to roll heavy stones against one another (Durant, 1071). The fifth circle contains the wrathful that wallow in mud and in their rage bite each other and themselves.

Virgil guides Dante to the gates of heaven but cannot enter because he is not permitted and returns to his place in hell. Instead Dante’s lost lover, Beatrice, comes to guide Dante on the rest of his journey. Dante envisions paradise as nine crystal spheres revolving around the earth. These spheres are representations of the “many mansions” of the Father’s house (Durant, 1077). These spheres contain planets and stars, which move around singing songs of joy. Each star is reserved for the saints. The stationing of the spheres are based on the merits of the people. The higher the merit on earth, the closer to God the people are (Durant, 1077). To Dante, God is envisioned as a continuous form of light and the source of all love (Witt, 326).

As Dante and Virgil continue they arrive in the city of Dis. The city holds those who were heretics. Coffins line the city with the heretics inside while raging fires burn under them. The travelers continue through on a river of blood towards the seventh circle, which holds the violent. The seventh circle is divided into three parts. Each part is devoted to each type of violence. One